Blackhawks shoot for 5-0 start in Columbus

(Sports Network) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to open the season with a
fifth straight victory on Saturday night and hand the Columbus Blue Jackets a
fourth consecutive defeat in the process.

The Blackhawks are off to their best start in 40 years after rallying from two
goals down to beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in overtime on Thursday. All three of
their goals came on the power play, the final one by Marian Hossa 1:41 into
the extra frame.

Patrick Sharp had a goal and two assists, Jonathan Toews scored and Patrick
Kane notched two assists, including one on Hossa's game-winning one-timer.

"That was obviously a great play by Patrick Kane," said Hossa, who has scored
five goals this season. "I saw him wide open there, and when he didn't have a
shot, as soon as he turned around I tried to get open. He sees the ice really
well, even behind him, so he made a great a great backhand pass to me and I
tried to just wire it."

Corey Crawford made 21 stops to help Chicago post its first 4-0 start since
the 1972-73 season. That came one season after the Blackhawks won five
straight to begin the campaign.

The Blackhawks are thriving early on despite a road-heavy schedule. They have
played three of their first four away from home and will host Detroit on
Sunday before starting up a six-game swing.

They'll first look to best a Blue Jackets team that has dropped three in a row
since a season-opening shootout win over Nashville. They then lost a shootout
to Detroit and have been outscored 9-1 in back-to-back losses to Phoenix and
Colorado.

Columbus yielded a goal just 51 seconds into Thursday's road game with the
Avalanche and never recovered in a 4-0 setback. Sergei Bobrovsky, who started
the two shootout games, yielded four goals on 28 shots versus the Avalanche.

The Blue Jackets went 0-for-6 on the power play.

"We have to go out and get those tough goals," said Columbus forward Brandon
Dubinsky.

That could be tough to do against the Blackhawks, who have won seven in a row
and 14 of their last 18 in this series. Chicago has also won six in a row and
nine of its last 10 in Columbus, scoring at least four goals in all but two of
those games.